At UK hospital, ugly pipework is transformed into fantastical instruments that lull patients to sleep

The Lullaby Factory is a system of musical tubes installed on the exterior of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children that plays lullabies to help patients sleep.

No stranger to providing innovative therapy to its patients, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children has already been covered on these pages for its interactive LED-illuminated wall that helps calm young visitors on their way to surgery. Now the hospital has collaborated with Studio Weave to reappropriate ugly pipework on the exterior of the building as the Lullaby Factory, a system of musical tubes that lull patients to sleep with relaxing sounds. Due to a redevelopment of the infirmary, the building currently has a temporary space that looks awkward and unsightly but can only be seen from inside the hospital. In order to make this area useful, East-London based Studio Weave decided to build on the existing aesthetic of the space, transforming the utilitarian pipework into an imaginative system of horns and woodwind instruments that play lullabies. Children are encouraged to see the building opposite as the Lullaby Factory, which manufactures soothing sounds to help patients recover from their illnesses. The pieces are in reality created by composer and sound artist Jessica Curry, and can be heard through special listening pipes, or by tuning into the Lullaby Factory radio station. The concept helps revitalize an otherwise unused and unpleasant space and improves young patients’ experience of hospital stays, contributing to their wellbeing. How else can good design be used to transform ordinary facades into something more creative and uplifting? Spotted by: Tracy Chong